Dog savaged two-week-old to death when baby’s mother fell asleep on sofa while father was smoking outside despite social workers’ warning not to leave animal alone with the boy, inquest hears
- Reuben McNulty was bitten up to 23 times by family’s Staffordshire bull terrier
- He was rushed to hospital on November 18, 2018, but died three weeks later
- Parents had been warned by social services not to leave baby alone with dogs
- Inquest into Reuben’s death concluded at Peterborough Town Hall today
A dog savaged a two-week-old boy to death when his mother fell asleep on the sofa while his father was smoking outside, despite social workers having warned them not to leave the pet alone with him, an inquest has heard.
Reuben McNulty was sitting on a teddy bear ring on the sofa with his mother Amy Litchfield when he was bitten up to 23 times on the head by the family’s pet Staffordshire bull terrier in the early hours of November 18, 2018.
His father, Daniel McNulty, dialled 999 when he discovered the bloody scene at their flat in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, but Reuben died three weeks later at Addenbrooke’s Hospital after suffering a severe traumatic brain injury and gastro-intestinal failure.
Reuben’s parents had been previously warned by social workers not to leave him alone with their two Staffies.
An inquest into his death today, not attended by either parent, heard neither of the family’s two pet dogs were being supervised at the time of the attack, shortly before 2am.
Cambridgeshire’s Area Coroner Simon Milburn said Mr McNulty told a 999 call handler: ‘I think the f***ing dog’s attacked him. My partner was asleep. I just heard crying.’
In a subsequent police interview, he said he had been outside ‘to smoke’, before returning back upstairs where he heard crying.
The coroner added: ‘He said on picking (Reuben) up he saw the injuries and saw the dog Dotty licking its lips.’
Reuben McNulty died in hospital three weeks after a dog attack at his home in Cambridgeshire
Daniel McNulty and Amy Litchfield (pictured) were initially arrested on suspicion of neglect, but police have confirmed no further action will be taken. The inquest heard the couple have split since the incident
Tragedy unfolded in November 2018 at the family’s home in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, pictured
When paramedics arrived, Daniel and Amy refused to hold Reuben, the inquest heard.
The baby was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where he was found to have suffered severe brain, spinal and skull injuries.
Simon Newbury, a specialist in veterinary forensics, told the court there were 23 individual puncture marks to Reuben.
He said they came from ‘at least four to five bites or engagements’ and ‘quite possibly as many as 18 to 23 if single punctures are single engagements each time’.
Mr Newbury told the court he believed Dotty saw baby Reuben as ‘a small prey or squeaky toy’.
He added: ‘I suspect Reuben was shaken between engagements. This attack would have lasted a minute or longer.
‘It’s possible Dotty was stimulated into prey drive by a certain movement.’
Dotty and a second Staffordshire bull terrier type dog called Fizz, were both female and aged between seven and nine years of age
Social worker Sophie Bradley said Ms Litchfield described the dogs as ‘her babies’, but had been ‘warned dogs can be unpredictable and can get jealous’.
A child protection plan was issued by social services before Reuben’s birth stating that he should never be left alone with the dogs, despite Amy having owned them since birth and there being no previous reports of violence or aggression.
Both dogs were seized by police and put down following the incident, the inquest heard.
The dogs, named Fizzy and Dotty, were destroyed following the attack in Cambridgeshire
The parents were both arrested by police on suspicion of child neglect following the death, but prosecutors decided not to charge them in December 2020.
Detective sergeant Emma Compson said police will take no further action against Mr McNulty or Ms Litchfield and the pair had ‘separated as a result of the trauma’.
Mr Milburn told the court that the short period of inattention while Ms Litchfield was asleep and Mr McNulty was outside ‘had horrific and tragic consequences’.
He said: ‘It’s clear on any reading of the evidence there had been no previous issues or concerns with either of those dogs.’
However, he did note that the dogs had been separated from Reuben on previous visits by social services and midwives, including on November 12 – six days before the incident.
The coroner continued: ‘In the early hours the explanation was that the mother was asleep in the living room – she had taken sleep tablets.
‘Reuben was asleep in the same room and the dogs were asleep or lying quietly in their bed in the same room.
‘Dan said he went out for a cigarette and Amy recalled in her [police] interview that Dan told her but unfortunately she fell back asleep, and it was when Dan came back inside a short time later he found Reuben seriously injured and one of the dogs, Dottie, covered in Reuben’s blood.
‘I think the best way to characterise that series of events is that it was an unintentional short period of inadvertent inattention which sadly had horrific and tragic consequences.’
Recording a narrative conclusion, he said: ‘Reuben died as a result of head injuries caused when he was attacked by a dog which was a family pet inside his home address.’
Mr Milburn extended his condolences to the family.
Speaking after the inquest today, Reuben’s nan Ruth Hinchey spoke of her relief at finding a conclusion to the family’s ordeal.
Ruth, Amy’s mother, said: ‘We’re just glad it’s finished and we can properly move on.’
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